FIA Tech announces that electronic rates will become mandatory in upcoming EGUS Release

As part of the wider industry effort to streamline brokerage processing, FIA Tech will be introducing mandatory electronic rates (eRates) in EGUS with the deployment of the EGUS 3.5 release in March of 2016.

In response to the industry effort towards reducing aged brokerage and increasing the efficiency of the brokerage settlement process, FIA Tech will make electronic rate schedules standard for Give-Up Agreements executed in EGUS. This feature will be introduced with EGUS 3.5, which is currently scheduled for deployment on March 11th, 2016. Mandatory eRates will apply to any agreement executed after EGUS 3.5 is implemented; existing agreements with PDF rate schedules need not be changed before this date.

A An eRate is a rate schedule within EGUS that is stored in an electronic format. An eRate can be built either directly in EGUS, or via the eModule, which is an EGUS-supplied Excel spreadsheet built to construct rate schedules to be uploaded into EGUS as eRates.

Q Will there be any documentation to help firms prepare for mandatory eRates?

A Yes. FIA Tech has developed documentation to help firms use electronic rate schedules. This includes an eRate Guide and training modules as well as webinars to assist people in using the electronic rate format. Please refer to our EGUS Documentation page for further information.

Q What do I need to do to prepare for EGUS 3.5?

A While rate schedules can still be attached to agreements in pdf format until the deployment of 3.5, in order to facilitate the transition to eRates FIA Tech recommends that all firms:

Review their existing agreements to determine which historic pdf rate schedules to convert to eRates.

Q Why make eRates mandatory?

A In contrast to PDF rate schedules, eRates can feed downstream systems that settle brokerage such as eGAINS and GPS, or firm systems. Brokerage calculations based on PDF rate schedules cannot be automated and must instead be done manually

Q What can be done if the eRate format cannot accommodate a rate type?

A As part of EGUS 3.5 you will be able to contact FIA Tech directly to assist you with these unique conditions.